Sleight of Hand
by lunar-kunoichi
Summary: Clothed only by her towel, Hinata shivered and opened her closet door. She reached inside. But wait. It was empty... Who stole Hinata's clothes, and why? Expect many odd misunderstandings.


"Sleight of Hand"

By _lunar-kunoichi_

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_Hinata opened her closet to get dressed. But wait. It was empty._ A race to protect her virtue has begun. So why is Naruto helping (especially when her family thinks he seduced her…)? And could it be more than a prank?

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A/N: I shall try to make it as cannon as possible with the pairing. Takes place when Team Eight return from their arc in looking for the Akatsuki with Naruto. Assume that they found nothing, and that Naruto has been sulking for the past few weeks.

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1

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For as long as seven-year-old Serahi could remember, she had lived within the confines of the Hyuuga clan walls. She had never pushed a foot outside, but that was fine, because the Hyuuga estates were huge, and easily large enough for someone her age--eight--to entertain herself.

All her friends were Branch family members like her, who had also been confined to the Hyuuga grounds. She enjoyed their company, but had long since become tired of the gossip. Except for one part.

The war between the two sisters; the question, 'who will become the next Hyuuga head'?

Training had long since been over, and now Serahi was lying on her back on the hard rooftop, after trying and failing to find some shade on the ground below. She had been thrown out, to put it bluntly, of their calligraphy lesson, because she was far too tempted to play pranks.

But, all the same, being outside was an advantage. She could see land from miles around without using the Byakugan, which gave her a head ache. She pulled a face. It was only to be expected, as she had only activated her Byakugan a week ago, and could not see over too much flat land.

Still, even with her vantage point, if Serahi had not paid attention at that exact moment she would have missed it. A dart of a shadow running quickly across the grounds, wearing male formal robes. And then a door slamming in the Hyuuga household, the door of the house she was

It was not until the figure had leapt onto the rooftops that Serahi recognised who it was; Hyuuga Hinata, the heiress. Dressed in male robes. With mud smeared over her face.

"Hinata-sama!" She squeaked, rising quickly, feeling blood rise to her cheeks. She had never actually met, much less spoken to the heiress, and it was daunting to think that the girl in front of her--fifteen, and almost to womanhood--could kill her with a single gesture.

Especially when it had taken her three seconds to recognise the one who could later 'own' her life. But it was not her fault that the heiress was dressed in male robes. Wait. She was dressed in male robes.

If Serahi had thought her blush was bad, it was nothing compared to Hinata's. The pale, mud-streaked cheeks turned as red as a ripe tomato; as if someone had applied some jutsu and poof, instant sunstroke. Serahi had to stop herself from reaching out and making sure that, yes, Hinata really wasn't suffering from overheating.

"It's not what it looks like!" The heiress said hastily. Then she seemed to gather herself, and said more calmly, "Did you see anyone pass by?"

Serahi thought back, and said honestly, "No, Hinata-sama."

Hinata's normally peaceful eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?"

The Branch member had always heard that Hinata-sama had almost no temper; that Hinata would not lash out at anyone. But, watching a dark look flash across Hinata's face as the heiress activated her Byakugan, the seven-year-old knew that those rumours were wrong.

She said quickly, "I am sure, Hinata-sama."

There was a pause, as Hinata scanned the grounds. Then that tension which had been built up seemed to deflate.

"I am sorry," said Hinata, her voice closer to the gentleness that Serahi's family talked about, "And I apologise if I alarmed you. But..." Hinata studied her for moments, and Serahi held her breath. "Tell me if you saw any suspicious characters, please, Serahi-san."

Then she took off, back towards one of the parts where only main house members were allowed.

Serahi took moments to blink; once; twice.

She really needed to get out of the Hyuuga grounds some time.

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Hinata stole swiftly through the gardens, trying to hide her attire. If someone saw her, she would be done for. It was unbecoming for a Hyuuga, any Hyuuga, to cross-dress. Even if it had not been her intention.

Still, she would have been hard-pressed to explain what, exactly, she had been doing there in the first place. Perhaps she could explain it as a mission, undercover. But Neji-niisan and Otou-sama were both observant. Her only stroke of luck was that Hanabi had been called away to a mission.

Perhaps Kami was smiling down on her that evening, for she had not been caught returning, and she made it to her room without incident. Instantly, Hinata stripped off the garments she was wearing. If she was caught...

For all she knew, she might have already been seen. But surely, if her father or Neji had caught her, wouldn't they have approached her and demanded to know what was going on? She knew that, once she had entered her room, she had nothing to fear.

Hinata darted into the bathroom as quickly as possible, scrubbing off the dirt. Whoever held the position of heiress slept in this room, and therefore had a bathtub--one of the reasons the bath houses in Konoha hated Hyuuga so much...

Five minutes later, she turned off the shower, feeling thoroughly cleaner. She should have known not to go there; it was really all her fault, and she should have no reason to explain. Hinata sighed. Her hand strayed unwillingly towards her forehead, until she caught her motion in the mirror.

Into her room she strode, noting that two scrolls had been slid under her doorway. A message from the Hokage, and a black parchment. Hinata was so surprised that she did not get dressed immediately into her night wear--the most revealing clothing she actually had, but bent down to retrieve it.

A meeting; that was all the scroll proclaimed, a meeting that she was called to--as well as Hanabi--as soon as her younger sister arrived back in Konoha.

It was not until chill began rolling across her skin that Hinata remembered she was still undressed. Against her will, she blushed, although she knew that no one could possibly see her.

Abandoning the second message, she made her way across to her closet, shivering in the cold. She would have to find something warm, she noted. Hinata opened the door, and reached inside.

But wait. It was empty.

For a few moments Hinata could not move. Then she activated her Byakugan, wondering if it was a joke of some kind. A cruel genjutsu.

It wasn't.

That was about the time panic began to set in. What was she supposed to do? Get dressed in bath robes, which she did not have? Cloth herself in her stolen--for that was the only possible answer--garments and hope that no one noticed?

"Hinata-sama?" called Neji's voice from outside.

As quick as a flash, Hinata darted into her bathroom and slammed the door shut. Then she said, trying to keep the quaver from her voice, "N-neji-niisan?"

She could almost hear his frown, knowing she had not stuttered when talking to him since Naruto returned from his three-year-long trip. "Is there something wrong, Hinata-sama?"

"No," said Hinata quickly, leaning against the door in case it opened.

Neji said, "I need to retrieve a scroll. The Hokage has left it here by accident, and asks me to bring it back to her. May I come in?"

Try as she might, Hinata could not hear any displeasure in her cousin's voice. Chills rolled down her spine. What could be so important? She could not let a small issue get in the way of something like this.

"Yes, Neji-niisan," she gave her permission. That was when she realised one thing.

She had left the closet door open. She could not stand this. Forming a seal, Hinata transformed into the first image that came to her mind. Looking in the mirror, she recognised the bright blue eyes of one Uzumaki Naruto, complete with a bright orange jumpsuit.

Then, a moment later, she made her escape, and ran out the window.

Not the best thing to do, she would realise, when she looked back on it later.

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Serahi looked up. Someone was running across the Hyuuga grounds again. She squinted.

This person she did not recognise, but there was something familiar about him. Perhaps that orange jumpsuit of his; no, she had never seen it before. But she did not protest as the person leapt over the gates.

There came a bang from below.

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Neji stared at the empty closet for just a moment. So this was what Hinata had been so panicked about.

She was running away.

The Hokage could wait; first, he had to talk to Hinata about her decision. He ran across the grounds quickly, only pausing once to speak with his younger cousin--Serahi, whose he had never been particularly close to but trusted to tell the truth anyway.

"Did someone leave the grounds?" He asked.

Serahi appeared to think very deeply. "Well..."

His hands tightened, knuckles almost turning white.

"Yes," said Serahi quickly, "There was one person. I didn't recognise him--except for the orange jumpsuit."

So, Uzumaki Naruto.

Hiashi-sama had to be informed about this. Neji abruptly changed direction.

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To be continued...

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Review please, constructive criticism greatly appreciated. I would like to know whether I should continue this along with _Broken But Healing_ (I am currently rewriting chapter three of it, and it should be up... soon.) Tell me, how is my attempt at a story which actually contains humour?

I would like someone to answer a question, too. If I delete a chapter of a story (say the final chapter submitted so far) and then submit one again in its place, will those who have 'alert' know?

_lunar-kunoichi_


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